Saudi Arabia Asks Consultants To Reassess Feasibility of 'The Line' Megaproject (middleeasteye.net)
- Reference: 0178377796
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/07/14/233200/saudi-arabia-asks-consultants-to-reassess-feasibility-of-the-line-megaproject
- Source link: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-asks-consultants-review-feasibility-line-report
> In April, The Financial Times reported that the CEO of Neom had launched a "comprehensive review" of the kingdom's megaproject. Neom, along with luxury Red Sea hotels and a ski resort, is the flagship project of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to transform the kingdom's economy and reduce its dependence on oil revenue. Bloomberg reported in 2024 that Saudi Arabia was [3]cutting back plans for The Line. Instead of 1.5 million people living there by 2030, Saudi officials were said to anticipate fewer than 300,000 residents. Meanwhile, only 2.4km of the city is expected to be completed by 2030.
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> In April, Goldman Sachs painted a bleak picture for Saudi Arabia's projects in a note to clients, projecting "pretty significant" budget deficits and more scaling back of megaprojects. Neom has already faced internal challenges. Nadhmi al-Nasr, who managed Neom's construction from 2018 to 2024, departed from his post in November. Nasr earned a chilling reputation managing Neom. He bragged that he put everyone to work "like a slave," adding, "When they drop down dead, I celebrate. That's how I do my projects." Two other foreign executives also left Neom at the end of 2024, according to The Wall Street Journal.
[1] https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-asks-consultants-review-feasibility-line-report
[2] https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/19/07/26/2129254/leaked-documents-reveal-saudi-arabias-plans-for-its-next-megacity
[3] https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/04/10/2141246/saudi-arabia-forced-to-scale-back-plans-for-desert-megacity
How stupid are the Saudis? (Score:2)
Very, very, very stupid. This whole idea is batshit insane.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, tons of money, a fucked up religion that does not allow them to do anything with it and an education system that is not good either (apparently, nobody wants to learn). So yes, batshit insane covers it nicely.
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> Well, tons of money, a fucked up religion that does not allow them to do anything with it and an education system that is not good either (apparently, nobody wants to learn). So yes, batshit insane covers it nicely.
You are talking about America or Saudi Arabia?
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It's not that nobody wants to learn it's that an educated populace can't be controlled so they're not allowed to learn.
And every religion is fucked up. You're believing something because somebody told you not evidence. That's the definition of faith as it is described in the bible. Not sure about the Quran but equally likely.
And the Quran can be reinterpreted however the hell you want because of how weird the Arab writing is. I don't know the details but because of the way punctuation and tense work
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There are countless hadiths that expand the Muslim confusion to insane levels. The whole 77 virgins thing is in some hadiths and not others. They contradict each other. The Jews have one set of texts. Each version of the Christian Bible varies some. The Muslims are the wild west.
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Don't forget stupid. Batshit insane doesn't cover it.
LOL! (Score:2)
I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.
"Dear MBS... no, the line is not feasible. You'd have to be a fever-dreaming megalomaniac to even imagine one-hundredth of that ridiculous vanity project could ever be built. The ego of such a tyrant would be unmatched... unmatched, that is, except by his stupidity. Wait... what are you doing with that saw? Put it down! MBS! Hey!... AAAAAAAAAA!
Goldman Sachs regrets to inform the public of the disappearance of its consultant to The Line. No
No fucking shit (Score:2)
I get claustrophobia just looking at at it. 200 meters is way too thin. It needs to be at least 500 meters wide. The high speed train idea is good, just make it a bunch of towns on a maglev line. 100 km long, with no place more than 10 mins from condo door to hospital, fire service, movie theater, and shopping.
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Here's another small tweak: Fold the line back on itself to form a grid!
That way, you can ditch the whole train thing and just walk to all of your destinations. Plus, you get an urban plan that has been proven workable since the days of ancient Mesopotamia.
"Feasibility" is pulling a lot of weight here (Score:2)
Don't get me wrong, I want to watch a mid 60's Tom Cruise running through the middle of desert Coruscant for an action sequence as much as anyone. But even there I think CGI would probably be more "feasible" than actually building the damned thing.